Demand across housing, infrastructure, retrofit and the transition to net zero continues to grow. The central constraint is increasingly clear: whether the industry can attract, prepare and retain enough capable people to deliver the work.
For John Cartwright, Head of Business Growth and Skills at Hartlepool College, the solution lies in a relationship the sector has discussed for years but still applies inconsistently: sustained, practical collaboration between education providers and employers.
“We want employers to buy into colleges,” he says. “If we’re not preparing learners properly for industry, then come and tell us.”
The invitation is significant because it places responsibility on both sides.
Colleges need to understand what employers require. Employers, in turn, need to contribute more than vacancies and occasional feedback. They need to help shape training, expose learners to the realities of work and invest in the environments from which their future workforce will emerge.
The skills challenge will not be resolved by education policy alone. Nor will it be solved by employers competing for a limited pool of already qualified people.
It requires a stronger pipeline, built collectively.
An Accidental Entry Into Construction
Cartwright did not enter construction through a long-held vocational ambition.
As a teenager, he hoped to become a physiotherapist, largely because of his interest in football. When his examination results did not open that route, a conversation with a friend changed the direction of his career.
“He said, ‘I’m going to be a brickie.’ I thought, that sounds fantastic.”
What began with little planning became a career spanning construction and education.
More than 25 years later, Cartwright’s enthusiasm for the built environment remains evident.
“I still get excited when I travel and see building projects. Whether it’s domestic housing, commercial developments or infrastructure, I love looking at what’s being built.”
That interest has shaped his approach to teaching. He wants learners to develop a professional curiosity that continues beyond the timetable, the workshop and the qualification itself.
Developing The Habit Of Looking Closely
One of Cartwright’s most memorable teaching methods begins with an unusual warning to new students.
“I always tell them, ‘I’m going to make you sad.’”
The remark usually attracts laughter. Its purpose becomes clearer over the following weeks.
Cartwright begins showing students photographs of defective workmanship: poor brickwork, failed detailing, leaning walls, badly constructed roofs and other examples of work that has not been executed properly.
Before long, students begin noticing the same things outside college.
“John, look at this wall down my street. What do you think?”
His response is predictable.
“I’ve made you sad.”
The exercise is not intended to make learners cynical about the industry. Its purpose is to develop discernment.
Capable tradespeople and construction professionals notice details. They question why a wall has cracked, how a roof has been built, whether a damp-proof course is correctly positioned or what may have caused a drainage failure.
That habit matters because good judgement is rarely confined to the moment a task is being assessed. It develops through repeated observation and a sustained interest in how buildings are put together.
Cartwright wants students to remain mentally engaged with construction after the formal teaching day has ended.
“I don’t want learning to stop after three days at college. I want them to carry on learning because they’re genuinely interested.”
For employers, this quality can be as valuable as early technical competence. Skills can be developed through practice and supervision. Curiosity gives people a reason to continue developing them.
The Range Of Careers Remains Poorly Understood
Construction continues to struggle with a narrow public image.
Many young people, parents and teachers still associate the industry primarily with a limited number of site trades. Those roles remain essential, but they represent only part of a far broader employment landscape.
“There really is a job for everybody,” Cartwright says.
Alongside bricklaying, joinery, plumbing, electrical installation and groundworks sit careers in quantity surveying, civil engineering, building surveying, planning, estimating, project management, site management and building services engineering.
The available routes are similarly varied. Learners may enter through full-time vocational education, apprenticeships, higher technical qualifications or degree apprenticeships.
This diversity matters because the skills challenge is broader than the supply of tradespeople alone.
The industry needs technical specialists, commercial professionals, engineers, planners, managers and supervisors. It also needs people capable of progressing between roles as projects and technologies evolve.
A more effective recruitment message would therefore explain the breadth of the industry, rather than asking young people to identify with a narrow image of construction.
Apprenticeships Depend On Relationship Quality
Public discussion about apprenticeships often concentrates on numbers: starts, completions, vacancies and funding.
Cartwright places greater emphasis on the quality of the relationship between the learner, employer and college.
When employers approach Hartlepool College, the process extends beyond forwarding a CV. Businesses are encouraged to visit, meet learners, understand the facilities and observe students in a practical setting.
His description is deliberately direct.
“Try before you buy.”
A learner may complete a project, undertake work experience or spend time with an employer before a formal recruitment decision is made.
This allows both parties to make a more informed judgement. The employer can assess attitude, communication and practical potential. The learner can develop a more realistic understanding of the business, the role and the standards expected.
The college also accepts responsibility for addressing concerns.
Where a learner is not ready for site because of punctuality, conduct or professionalism, staff will intervene rather than leave the employer to manage the problem alone.
“We can’t afford to lose good employers.”
That candour protects the relationship, but it also creates an obligation on employers.
A first-year apprentice cannot reasonably be expected to perform like an experienced tradesperson or independently manage complex work. Progress depends on structured exposure, appropriate supervision and realistic expectations.
The college can prepare a learner for employment. The employer must continue the development.
Why Mentoring Changes Outcomes
Cartwright regards mentoring as one of the clearest determinants of apprenticeship success.
Where employers provide thoughtful onboarding, define expectations and allocate experienced people to support new starters, retention and progression improve.
He recalls one business that invited apprentices and their parents into the organisation before the programme began.
Each apprentice received tools, met the wider team and was allocated a mentor.
“It was emotional because everybody bought into it.”
The results were equally striking.
Every apprentice completed the programme. Every apprentice remained with the business. Every apprentice progressed.
Cartwright does not regard that outcome as accidental.
A well-designed apprenticeship gives the learner a sense of belonging before difficulties arise. It provides someone to ask, someone to observe and someone who can explain the unwritten expectations of the workplace.
Without that support, minor uncertainties can quickly become disengagement.
Formal paperwork remains necessary, but retention depends more heavily on whether the apprentice experiences the organisation as a place in which people are prepared to invest in them.
Safeguarding Is A Shared Responsibility
Safeguarding is another area in which some employers feel uncertain, particularly when recruiting younger apprentices.
Cartwright believes colleges should help businesses understand both their responsibilities and the support available.
Hartlepool College now provides safeguarding sessions for construction employers, reflecting the growing complexity of the issues learners may bring with them.
“We’ve seen safeguarding issues double and treble over the last five years.”
Some students face financial pressure. Others may need a safe and warm environment. Some require access to trusted adults who will listen and recognise when something is wrong.
These circumstances do not disappear when a learner moves between college and site.
“We never really switch off.”
The implication for employers is that apprenticeship support cannot be reduced to technical instruction alone.
Businesses are not expected to become welfare agencies, but they do need sufficient awareness to identify concerns, respond appropriately and work with the college where necessary.
A stronger partnership allows the learner to experience a more coherent support system rather than moving between two disconnected environments.
The Responsibility Of Major Contractors
Cartwright is particularly direct about the contribution made by the industry’s largest organisations.
Small and medium-sized contractors often invest heavily in apprentices because the connection to succession planning is immediate. They understand that without developing people, the business may struggle to replace experience as senior employees retire or move on.
Larger contractors do not always demonstrate the same level of direct commitment.
“I’d like more Tier One contractors to buy into skills.”
Major projects may contain significant numbers of apprentices employed through subcontractors. This contributes to the overall pipeline, but it can allow principal contractors to meet skills commitments without developing comparable capability within their own organisations.
Social value requirements have increased attention on employment and training, although the quality of engagement remains uneven.
Cartwright’s argument extends well beyond trade apprenticeships.
Large contractors could recruit and develop apprentice estimators, quantity surveyors, planners, project managers and engineers. These roles are central to the industry’s future capacity, particularly as project delivery becomes more technically and commercially complex.
The opportunity exists. What varies is the consistency of employer commitment.
Employers Can Contribute Without Recruiting
Some businesses assume that they have little to offer a college unless they are ready to employ an apprentice.
Cartwright rejects that assumption.
Support can take many forms. Employers can deliver guest lectures, host site visits, provide work experience, judge competitions, set live project briefs, donate materials, support enrichment activity or offer mentoring.
“Come and support your local college.”
These interactions give learners exposure to professional expectations that cannot be replicated fully in a classroom or workshop.
A site visit can help a student understand scale, sequencing and coordination. A guest talk can reveal how a particular career developed. A live project brief can show how technical knowledge is applied under real constraints.
For employers, the benefit is also practical.
Regular contact with colleges gives businesses early access to emerging talent, provides an opportunity to influence curriculum design and helps them build a reputation among potential future recruits.
A productive relationship can begin well before a vacancy exists.
The Skills Shortage Inside Further Education
Discussion about construction’s labour shortage rarely gives equal attention to the workforce required within further education.
Colleges compete with industry for experienced lecturers, assessors and technical specialists. Recruiting capable electricians, engineers, bricklayers and other professionals into teaching can be difficult when commercial salaries are often more attractive.
This creates a structural problem.
The industry needs colleges to train more people, but those colleges need experienced practitioners to deliver the training.
Cartwright’s conclusion is unambiguous.
“We need sustained investment in education.”
Facilities, equipment and teaching capacity cannot be expanded through short-term initiatives alone. Colleges require stable funding and a credible route for experienced professionals who may be interested in moving into education.
Employers also have a role to play here.
Industry professionals can contribute through part-time teaching, guest sessions, curriculum support and collaboration with assessors. Businesses can second staff, provide access to current equipment and help ensure that teaching reflects contemporary methods.
The separation between education and industry is often treated as fixed. In practice, there is considerable scope for people and knowledge to move between them more freely.
Building A Workforce System Rather Than Competing For Scarcity
The recurring message in Cartwright’s approach is that the skills gap cannot be allocated to one part of the system.
Colleges are responsible for preparing learners properly. Employers are responsible for creating credible opportunities and supporting development once employment begins. Government influences funding, incentives and the stability of the wider training environment.
None can resolve the problem independently.
A stronger system would involve clearer expectations, earlier employer engagement and more consistent investment in mentoring, safeguarding and progression.
It would also require the industry to look beyond immediate vacancies.
Hiring an apprentice addresses one role. Supporting a college helps strengthen the wider pool from which many businesses may eventually recruit.
Cartwright remains optimistic because he sees examples of this collaboration already taking place.
Contractors mentor learners. Businesses donate materials. Employers help shape courses. Students discover that construction offers a career they had not previously considered.
“I want every learner to be prepared to meet the needs of industry,” he says. “And if we’re not doing that, please come and tell us.”
That invitation should be taken seriously.
For employers, engagement with colleges is not an act of corporate generosity. It is part of long-term workforce planning.
The industry’s future capacity will depend on whether education providers and employers are prepared to build that workforce together.
